Odds and Ends

David returned safely from his quick trip over the mountains last evening. It's great to have him back home with us, and we are glad that everything worked out well with getting the container for our co-workers.

David returned from his trip with a little box full of strawberries! :) Unfortunately, most of them had bad spots, even to the point of being rotten, so we couldn't eat them whole. But, after cleaning them and getting rid of all the bad spots, I was able to get about 8 cups worth of puree to make some strawberry jelly. :) As we have heard some stories concerning how strawberries are fertilized here, I made sure to find a recipe where the strawberry puree needed to be boiled for quite some time. We don't buy jelly, so it will be a special treat to have some... especially strawberry! I am very thankful for them!


The other day, Aria asked me if she could do something (don't remember what it was). I told her "no", and she sighed loudly and said, "mommy, you are so difficult!" Hmm... I think we have a 4 year old going onto 13!

Honestly, the past week or so, I have been feeling worn-out and like I'm failing in this job of motherhood. I am so thankful I am a mommy and don't take it for granted (at least, I don't want to), and I love my children SO very much! But, sometimes... whew! The constant teaching, training, disciplining, nurturing, caring, and, did I mention disciplining? just wears me out some days. Since it's now summer, we haven't been having our morning pre-school routine, and I think we really need to get back into doing something like that. I think my kids and I do SO much better with a schedule and routine.

Speaking of routine, I am really looking forward to doing some kindergarten school work with Aria this fall. I am trying to think of ways to make it fun and exciting for her. I think we will be turning part of our little entry way into a class room for her.

Right now, Micah's favorite song is "Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise Ye the L". Whenever we start sing "Hallelu, Hallelu,...", Micah will squat down. Whenever we sing "Praise Ye the L", he will stand up and raise his hands high in the air. So cute!

Nina's sad face because she was missing her papa